I am designing a shaker workbench and want to put 3/4 holes in the top or dogs and holdfasts but was thinking that the saw dust and shavings will be falling through the holes and into the top drawers am I thinking to hard or is this a problem that happens any feedback from people with shaker workbenches would great

4 replies so far

I left a space between the top and the top set of drawers and put a top on the drawer cabinet. The space is handy because I didn’t want a tool tray so that’s where the tools go. I also store the dogs and other bench paraphernalia there. My bench isn’t shaker, but i think the same would apply.

I did the same as Don with the top on the set of drawers. If you don’t leave space, you lose a lot of clearance for your holdfast and have the sawdust issue. I think a shelf on top of the drawers with 4-5” of space is much more valuable than a couple extra drawers that impede clamps and holdfasts.

i will sometimes just use a piece of dowel for a dog. A 6 or 8” piece (maybe 10” I don’t recall) dowel will sit on the drawer top so it never falls down. Another advantage. I don’t need expensive dogs.

Rob, I have several 3/4” holes in the top of my bench for dogs and holdfasts. I have no drawers below the top, but I do have a shelf several inches below the top. I use this shelf to store a number of things for use at the bench. Yep, stuff falls through the holes all the time. But it is not that big of a deal for me. When I vacuum the shop area, I run it through the shelf area and clean it up. I consider that an extremely small price to pay for the functions the dogs and holdfasts perform. I couldn’t do what I without them. So I gotta have them holes!